1. Statement of the Technical Field
The invention concerns computing systems. More particularly, the invention concerns computing systems and methods for providing a trusted secure desktop.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data can be used and stored on a user computer or a server computer that is accessible via the Internet for a variety of purposes. Such purposes include, but are not limited to, online banking, stock trading, and social data exchange. There is an increasing need to ensure a sufficient high level of security whenever such data is created, updated, viewed, or transferred to another medium without such actions being compromised by hackers and malware. Such malware can include, but is not limited to, keyloggers, rootkits, screen scrapers, and viruses. The method often used by hackers and malware compromises the use of a keyboard, a display screen, or windows clipboard rather than files. This is because the access of files and the transfer of files from an end-user device are typically well protected by traditional anti-malware software.
Notably, conventional computer security software is typically reactive in nature, and therefore requires regular updates. As such, a possibility exists that hackers, viruses, spyware, malware and malicious software may penetrate the defenses put in place to protect the end-user from harm. In view of the forgoing, there is a need for a system that facilitates data security when data is accessed locally or over the Internet.
Prevention of the above described threats poses a very serious problem for computer security software vendors. This is due to the increasing complexity of threats to which end-user devices are exposed. In general, conventional security solutions provided by computer security software vendors address certain aspects of the overall security requirements and often assume that the computer is protected by traditional anti-virus or anti-malware solutions. As such, there is a need for a system that facilitates comprehensive protection of data used on an end-user device and across a network (e.g., the Internet).